


Audacity

by Starrie_Wolf



Series: City of Ruins [1]
Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: M/M, Runed!verse, The fandom for this fic is not TMI it is Runed but I can't put that under the fandom tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-13
Updated: 2014-10-13
Packaged: 2018-02-21 00:53:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2449316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starrie_Wolf/pseuds/Starrie_Wolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Don’t break this for two weeks. And call me.</i>
</p><p>Follows Chapter 31 of City of Shadows (Interlude: Poppet)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Audacity

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Siavahda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siavahda/gifts).
  * Inspired by [City of Shadows](https://archiveofourown.org/works/585318) by [Siavahda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siavahda/pseuds/Siavahda). 



> If you've never read the Runed series, you will understand exactly nothing of this. So go read it.
> 
> Because I promised Siavahda something for her birthday, but I was busy back then, and I'm still busy but that shall no longer be an excuse today. So, to commemorate the new chapter of City of Dreams (you can see me just grasping at straws for any excuse to dust this off my laptop) here, have some more Runed!fic. Seriously can they list you as a fandom?
> 
> Unbeta'ed - this was only completed because I'm having writer's block on some work that is due in 24 hours. Posted on AO3 as per her request.
> 
> Main inspiration songs (links are to YouTube):  
> \- Alec: [_Heart Attack_ (cover) by Sam Tsui  & Chrissy Costanza](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDELybyZ4oU)  
> \- Magnus: _Hummingbird Heartbeat_ by Katy Perry (especially the first line)  
>  \- Malec: [_Finally_ by Matt Fishel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToU4Y9bs7bk)

Biting his lip, Alec hesitated by the doorbell, suddenly struck by a case of nerves. What if Magnus hadn’t meant it after all – what if the warlock had only been mocking him at the party?

After all, who could possibly prefer _him_ to Jace?

_“He can come anytime.”_

One hand rose, almost subconsciously, and clutched at the witch’s ladder still hanging around his neck. The other shook slightly, then determinedly jabbed down hard on the buzzer.

A moment later a voice echoed through the stairwell. “WHO CALLS UPON THE HIGH WARLOCK?”

Alec swallowed. “Alexander Lightwood,” he managed, proud of the way his voice didn’t even shake. “You, er, told me to call.”

There was a pause, and for a wild moment Alec thought he was about to be turned away. But then the second door opened with a ping, silently inviting him in.

Magnus Bane was leaning in the entryway, arms folded. Compared to the first time Alec has seen him, he looked fairly normal. His black hair still stood up in spikes, and he looked much younger than his actual age. He wore a black t-shirt with the words ONE MILLION DOLLARS picked out across the chest in sequins, and jeans that hung low on his hips, low enough that Alec looked away, down at his own shoes. Which were boring. And nowhere near Magnus.

“When I said call, I was thinking more of a telephone,” Magnus declared to nothing in particular. “I wasn’t particularly expecting you to call _on_ me.”

“Er, I’m sorry?” Alec stuttered. Was it a bad idea to come after all? “I could go?” he offered, shifting nervously from foot to foot.

Magnus blinked. “I didn’t say it was a problem.” He shifted away from the doorway. “Come in.”

The loft looked different without all those partygoers in it. It was — well, not ordinary, but the sort of space someone might live in. Like most lofts, it had a big central room split into “rooms” by groupings of furniture. There was a square collection of sofas and tables off to the right, which Magnus gestured Alec toward. Alec sat down gingerly on a gold velvet sofa with elegant wooden curlicues on the arms.

“Tea?” Magnus eyed him, sprawling himself on a tufted ottoman, his long legs stretched out in front of him. Alec endeavoured not to look, but with the way Magnus carelessly arranged his long limbs, he was failing. He nodded, unable to think of anything intelligent or interesting to say. The strip of golden skin above Magnus’ jeans wasn’t helping either. Not that he was paying much attention to it. Or any attention, actually.

His right hand felt suddenly hot. He jumped reflexively, and only barely escaped spilling on himself… a cup of chai? Closer inspection revealed it was a waxed paper cup from Joe, the Art of Coffee. “By the Angel —”

“I _love_ that expression,” interjected Magnus. “It’s so quaint.” He brought his own paper cup to his lips.

Alec stared at him. Somehow, asking whether the tea had been paid for seemed rather idiotic. He opted to continue his silent spell, taking a large gulp of chai instead. “I want to thank you,” he told the warlock when he found his voice again. “For saving my life.”

Something indescribable flashed through Magnus’ eyes. Alec flinched automatically, but it was gone as fast as it had appeared, making him doubt whether he had really seen it in the first place.

“You saved my life,” repeated Alec, aware that he was most probably making a fool of himself, but steeling himself to finish what he had come to do in the first place. “But you were asleep when I woke up the first time, and gone the second time. So I never had a chance to thank you.”

“You’re… welcome?” Magnus’ eyebrows had disappeared into his hairline, but his gaze was fixed on Alec. He didn’t look contemptuous, just thoughtful.

Movement in the corner of his eye, behind Magnus.

Alec was on his feet in a flash, his hand dropping to his belt.

Magnus jerked at the sudden movement, one hand snapping up – defensively, Alec noted clinically, in a way calculated not to startle heightened Shadowhunter instincts even further. Magnus must have known Shadowhunters before – _of course he did_ , a small voice whispered, how else did Simon’s mother know to find him, dare to trust him with her son?

“There is nothing that will attack me in my own home,” said Magnus calmly. “I will know.”

Alec managed a sharp, short nod, eyes darting back and forth, tracking that elusive shadow.

The light glinted off another pair of gold-green eyes closer to floor level. A small grey and white tabby cat came around the ottoman and wound its way between Magnus’ legs, eyes trained on him darkly.

“Chairman Meow,” introduced Magnus, making no move to pick up his cat. The breath left Alec’s lungs in a whoosh. What _was_ he doing? Getting so worked up over a _cat_? Magnus must think he was ridiculous and stupid. Of course a warlock as good as Magnus Bane would have wards up, wards to prevent him from being murdered in his own bed.

Then the name hit him. “You _named_ your cat –” he managed, before running out of words to say.

“He was a fascinating man,” offered Magnus blithely, reaching down to rub Chairman Meow’s head, his long fingers running over its fur. The tabby yawned, unconcerned with the affairs of men.

“Is that why you have catnip?” blurted out Alec, then immediately regretted his words. Cheeks flaming, his gaze fell to the ground.

Magnus blinked. “Well, _someone_ ’s a hardworking student,” he drawled. “You’re really not what I expected.”

“From a Shadowhunter?”

“From a Lightwood.”

Alec glanced up at that, embarrassment forgotten. “I didn’t realise you knew my family that well.”

“I’ve known your family for hundreds of years.” Magnus’ eyes searched his face, though his voice was casual. Alec tensed involuntarily under the close scrutiny, then made himself forcefully relax. He wasn’t being interrogated. He was here to – here to – here to what? He couldn’t even make himself say it in the privacy of his own mind.

Alec wet his lips, shoving his insecurities away. It was now or never. “Do you like me?” Leaning forward, he nearly spilled his chai again, and hastily put it down on the table before he could even further humiliate himself. Way to go, Lightwood. Any more and he could probably write a book on how to _not_ impress someone.

Magnus let out a long breath. “Come here,” he beckoned, shifting to make space on the ottoman. “Such pretty blue eyes…” he trailed off, seemingly to himself.

“Guys aren’t pretty,” protested Alec half-heartedly, but he obediently went over to the ottoman and perched on one edge of it, eyes trained on the ground. At least he didn’t have to look the warlock in the face like this. His face must be permanently red by now.

“I know that the Clave disapproves of homosexuality.”

Alec snapped upright, heart jackrabbiting, an automatic denial on his lips that he barely managed to swallow back in time. What could he do, when he’d come here to do exactly the opposite? He risked a glance at Magnus, who was watching him attentively, and felt himself flush again. Angel, Magnus must think he was such an idiot by now.

But he hadn’t been thrown out yet, whispered a small voice in his mind. It couldn’t be because Magnus was afraid of him, surely – a High Warlock against an eighteen-year-old Nephilim without even a bonded blade, without his favourite weapon of choice, would be a very one-sided fight. They both knew that. Alec swallowed, eyes darting compulsively to the door. Maybe he should get out, while he still could.

Magnus’ voice was gentle. “Does anyone know you’re gay?”

Alec bit his lip. “Simon,” he whispered, as though anything louder would alert the Clave. Just the thought of Simon, an outsider, somehow knowing – _how did he find out, how did Alec slip up, was he going to tell anyone_ – “And Izzy.” Mentioning his sister gave him the courage to just blurt out what made him visit in the first place. “Izzy said – she said that you didn’t have to come to the Institute. That you’d come to see me. And that when we’re both awake, we should talk.” He buried his face in his hands, losing his nerve. “Maybe this was a mistake.”

Soft fur nudged against his arm, and he dropped it in shock, looking down to see Chairman Meow butting his head insistently against him. Alec mimicked what he had seen Magnus do earlier, carefully ran his hand down the tabby’s fur, and felt himself calm somewhat. Maybe that was why Magnus kept a cat around?

“Alexander, will you look at me?”

Startled, Alec stilled in his petting, and Chairman Meow made his displeasure known rather audibly. When he looked up again, it was to find Magnus watching him, an odd mix of – affection and contentment? – on his face.

“Do _you_ like me?” Magnus parroted his words back at him.

Alec blinked, gaze lowering naturally, and then had to look away hurriedly when his eyes fell on the bare strip of stomach Magnus’ T-shirt showed. “I don’t know,” he confessed. “I don’t know what it means to _like_ someone.” He steeled himself, and then looked back at Magnus, meeting his eyes. “Or what I’m supposed to do afterwards.”

Magnus’ gaze softened. “Do you think I’m attractive, and want to more spend time with me?”

“I –” Alec stared back at Chairman Meow, who had given up on him, and hopped off the ottoman with what must be the tabby version of a huff. “Yes?”

“It’s okay if you think you aren’t ready for a relationship right now, Alexander.”

Alec jerked up, wide eyes staring at Magnus. Izzy had been _so_ sure – “So, that’s a no then?”

“I didn’t say that,” coaxed Magnus patiently. “Why don’t you tell me what made you decide to go against your Clave’s mandates?”

Alec bit his lip. Magnus probably wouldn’t tell anyone else – certainly not Jace, he didn’t even seem to _like_ Jace very much, a fact that boggled Alec’s mind. But _Jace_ seemed to be gay himself, so maybe he wouldn’t care? “It’s the way Jace looks at Simon…” he trailed off, eyes staring into nothing in particular. “He makes him look so _happy_ ,” he confided to Magnus’ shoulder.

“Did you know,” Magnus commented with a complete non-sequitur, “how I felt when your sister called me, panicked and almost in tears, telling me you were _dying_? When I heard you _scream_?”

_We will take you apart piece by piece and it will take your mind a thousand years to break –_

Alec shivered. But then –

_You’re not going to die today, Shadowhunter._

“That witch’s ladder…” Alec cleared his throat, fingers grasping the necklace, which he had nearly forgotten. “It must have been priceless.” Have been, because it would never be usable again, not after Magnus had wrung every last drop of power out of the charm until the golden oak leaf was burnt a burnished bronze. The handicraft was still exquisite, of course, but it would never again be able to store another drop of power.

“So are you,” Magnus said matter-of-factly.

Alec opened his mouth, and closed it again when no words would come out. Him? Priceless? Priceless was people like Jace, who shone so brightly, so much like the sun. Priceless was historical artefacts like the Mortal Cup. Not boring, plain Alec Lightwood. He inspected Magnus’ face for any trace of deceit, any trace that he was having his leg pulled, but saw nothing but open earnestness.

If Magnus was playing a prank, he had an _excellent_ poker face. And Alec couldn’t deny the little skip his heart made at Magnus’ declaration. At a sign – possibly, maybe? – someone saw Alec as more than a shadow behind his sparkling siblings.

_You. Can’t. Have. HIM._

“Or would you prefer I say, ‘hello blue eyes, I see you admiring my legs. Feel free to get between them’?” Magnus winked, wagging an eyebrow up and down salaciously.

That startled Alec into a laugh. “That,” he snickered, “is one of the worst pick-up lines I’ve heard. And I’ve heard _many_ girls try various things on Jace.”

“But not on you?”

Alec jerked slightly, peering quickly at Magnus to see if he’d meant it mockingly, but Magnus’ expression didn’t change – though he was starting to look concerned again. He cleared his throat. “Uh, no, you’re actually the first person to maybe have an interest in me?”

“Try wording it as a statement,” Magnus teased gently.

Alec swallowed. “So you – you do have an interest in me.” His voice wobbled slightly, and he wondered perhaps he was hallucinating, but no, the exquisite poppet and the witch’s ladder were both very real and – the former, at least – very safely tucked in his little hiding place in the closet.

“Yes,” confirmed Magnus, like it wasn’t a huge deal to be attracted to someone of the same sex, and maybe it wasn’t, not to him – but then his gaze sharpened. “So, you’ve never kissed anyone?” he clarified. Alec shook his head mutely, wondering whether this would disqualify him – surely Magnus had so much more experience, would prefer someone who wasn’t a stuttering blushing fool in his presence – when Magnus continued, “May I rectify that,” and the warlock was suddenly in his personal space, his face so close Alec could count the specks of colour iridescent in his eyes, feel the warm breath brush his cheek with every exhale. Magnus had a finger under his chin, tilting it up slightly, but made no move to close the distance between them.

“Um,” Alec said intelligently, but the sudden proximity had caused him to tense instinctively, and Magnus drew back instantly.

Panicked, Alec opened his mouth to tell Magnus he could, but the finger under his chin moved to lay over his lips and the words died in his throat.

“Alexander,” and the warlock’s voice was solemn and full of promise, his flirty demeanour gone. “I will _never_ force you to do something you’re uncomfortable with.”

Alec stared into the sincerity etched in in cat-slitted eyes, at the way Magnus’ hand was gently wrapped around his forearm, just atop the spiralling _parabatai_ rune, and thought, wildly and possibly inappropriately, of catnip.

Before his brain could start working again, Alec leaned upwards and tried clumsily to press his lips to Magnus’. But the angle was all wrong, and his nose bumped into Magnus’. Bright red, he stumbled backwards, an apology already on his lips. His voice died away when he saw the wistful smile on the warlock’s face, soft and sweet like Alec was the most precious treasure he had ever seen in his life.

“Tilt your head a little,” instructed Magnus in a murmur, “mm, like that –” then their lips were touching. Just a gentle pressure of softness against each other, but it made Alec shudder all the same. Experimentally, he moved his lips a little, and saw the corners of Magnus’ eyes crinkle up.

Magnus kept the lingering kiss formal, allowing Alec to control the pace. When Alec finally stepped back, his heart was pounding as if he had run a marathon.

“So,” Magnus asked conversationally, “are you free on Friday?”

Alec opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again. “Friday?” he managed faintly, although his mind was already checking his schedule, cross-referencing it with Jace’s, trying to figure out a way to find an excuse to go out alone without incurring questions from his _parabatai_. “Yes, yes I think I can be.”

Magnus was watching him with a very slight smile on his face. “If you can’t make it, give me a ring and we’ll reschedule, all right?” He got up and stretched casually, and Alec felt his face heat up again at the expanse of skin right in front of his face. He stood automatically, and followed Magnus to the front door.

Magnus paused, then, and spent a long moment just _looking_ at him. Then he darted in, quick and light, brushing his lips over Alec’s cheek before murmuring in his ear, “Friday then –” his lips closed lightly upon the shell of Alec’s ear, just once, making him shiver. “Get ready for a _real_ kiss.” And he released Alec and stepped back, leaving a dazed Shadowhunter standing there.

“Friday,” Alec repeated, aware that he was probably grinning like a fool. He backed away, down the landing, until he could no longer see Magnus leaning against the doorway, and then he ran down the remaining steps, taking them two at a time, his blood singing in his ears like music.

**Author's Note:**

> **Characterisation notes:**
> 
> I didn’t like several key elements in canon!Kissed – I didn’t like the portrayal of Alec, and how Magnus didn’t even _ask_ for permission before kissing him, and especially this line here: _“You have to stop playing hard to get, Alexander. It makes things difficult.” He grinned._ Even as a reader, because of Magnus’ behaviour throughout _Kissed_ you literally don’t know whether Magnus is only teasing, whether he really understood Alec, or he actually grossly misunderstood the situation and seriously thought Alec was really playing hard to get. You can see that Alec’s immediate reaction is total awe that _oh Angel, somebody actually wants to date me_ and Magnus makes _no effort_ to give Alec something solid, something other than his physical appearance to fall in love with.
> 
> The Runed!verse characters are quite different from canon, and this is how I envisioned this scene would have panned out.
> 
> Here we have an eighteen-year-old with serious self-esteem issues, who probably has never really had a proper crush before - when you're attracted to someone and horrified and ashamed of your body's reactions; when you think there's something _wrong_ with you for thinking that way, you tend to try to suppress those feelings as much as possible, which is why Alec really doesn't know what it means to _like_ someone in a conventional sense. Alec wouldn't react like a typical American teenager (no, that's Simon's role), and I think it's really important to distinguish that.
> 
> For Magnus on the other hand, this is the first lengthy conversation he has had a chance to have with Alec, and he reads all the signs and adapts his behaviour accordingly to continuously reassure Alec without coming across as condescending or pandering. He's well-aware of Clave customs, how Alec faces execution if the Clave ever finds out about his homosexuality (he's the firstborn child of two traitors, they would probably pass the maximum sentence if they ever caught him), and he thinks it's amazing that Alec would be brave enough to face his own feelings despite everything. He was half-expecting Alec to hide his number somewhere, pretend he never saw it - the very fact that Alec even had the courage to come see him, no matter how nervous he was, already spoke volumes.
> 
> [I have a Tumblr if you're interested!](starriewolf.tumblr.com)


End file.
